Record number of students receive arts administration certificates

POTCHEFSTROOM - A record number of students have just received their certificates in arts administration from Artma on the Potchefstroom Campus of the North-West University (NWU) after nine months of intensive training.

This year 33 students  across the entire country were selected out of 622 applications to follow this popular course in Potchefstroom.

According to the manager of Artéma - the Institute for Art Management and Development, Mr Chris de Bruyn, they launched a national campaign to recruit students for the first time this year. Eventually only 33 from North West, Gauteng, Mpumalanga, Limpopo and the Eastern Cape were selected.

One of the students, Ms Omphemetse Mokgosi, said they reap the fruit of their hard work of the past nine months and that every one of the students now has to show the country and the world what they are capable of doing. “The South African art industry is waiting for us, let us show them what we can do,” she said.

The Head of the Department of Culture at the Potchefstroom Campus, Mr Horst Bütow, said that the students had to plan, arrange and execute a project of 15 productions from beginning to end for Aardklop 2008 as part of their course. They were also taken to Johannesburg and Pretoria on two academic visits where they were introduced to well-known art and culture structures and organisations.

According to Mr Bütow, the course covers several topics in management and organisational aspects in the arts environment. “Everything is done to equip students better in the principles of arts administration so that they can contribute to the development of art in their own residential areas.”

This year, for the fourth time, the course was presented with the contribution of the Media, Advertising, Printing, Publishing and Packaging Seta (MAPP Seta). MAPPP Seta contributed R35 000 per student for the course.

From the left are Messrs Chris de Bruyn, Manager of Artma, Romeo Langeveld, administrative officer of Artma, Fani Moropa from Witbank who won the trophy as best student, Ms Thendo Nkhumeleni from Thohoyandou in Limpopo and Mr Mosiuoa Lebone from the MAPPP-Seta